News – Budget Cutting

North America

Bush pushes the Senate to cut $40 billion in spending and extend his tax cuts, to keep the economy on track. I agree and some of that should come right out of the military budget. It’s long time to have the senate sit down with the DoD and start slimming that bloated space in the budget. If we’re slimming things down, that’s a prime place to start, full of all sorts of inefficiency. I’m sure you could cut a few billion out of that without touching the military’s overall effectiveness. But it won’t happen. You know why? Because the military budget is death to anyone who touches it because of mindless ‘patriotism’, seeing anyone who takes anything from the military as anti-American or some other such buzzword. The sort of bullshit that allows things to get out of hand.

The Democrats want a big House investigation. Me too. Democrat and republican alike. The Senate too. It’s long time we have a nice Congressional enema to get all of that nastiness out of there. See how many of our beloved politicians are on the take. We should do it once every few years, just to put the fear into their cold little hearts.

Those few who returned to areas of Louisiana hardest hit by Katrina are finding their neighborhoods dark and creepy. The term ‘ghost town’ comes to mind. And I maintain that we shouldn’t be resettling those areas regardless.

The Congressional Research Services conclude in a report that the administration’s justification for eavesdropping authorized by President George W. Bush conflicts with existing law. To be simple, what he is doing is against FISA.

Suggestions on the grilling of Alito. Not that Alito need answer any questions, nor that Senators really care about asking them.

Cheney is taken to the hospital. Not an uncommon occurrence and one of the things that reassures me he’ll never be the head man around here. His body couldn’t take it.

Now that Tom Delay has voluntarily bowed out of his leadership position, will there be a rumble in the House over who takes his place as majority leader? It would seem against the current way of republicans to have a messy battle over this.

Middle East

Turkey confirms they have fourteen cases of Bird Flu. That includes the three children who have already died. We should be watching Turkey very close. As cold as it is to say, they are an example of what could come to us in time.

Iran keeps on, confirming it will continue nuclear research today. They choose their path, they’ll have to deal with the results.

Ali Fadhil, an award winning Iraqi journalist working with the Guardian, was seized by US forces Sunday for questioning and released hours later. The troops forced their way into his home while he and his family were asleep, with reports they fired into his bedroom. It is also noted that the troops told him they were looking for an insurgent and confiscated tapes he shot for an investigation for Channel 4’s Dispatches program into claims that tens of millions of dollars worth of Iraqi funds held by the Americans and British have been misused or misappropriated. Which as of yet have not been returned. Of course, makers of the program in question wonder if perhaps this incident is a crude attempt to stymie their investigation.

One wonders.

Sharon is recovering slightly. One wonders what condition he’ll be in once he recovers from the medically induced coma. But even if he recovers, consensus is his time in politics is over. Which is just as well, after something of this magnitude, the best thing to do is take it easy. That leaves me wondering, yet again, who will take his place and what will become of his new party. Unlike most I don’t feel there will be much of an overall change. I didn’t see Sharon taking Israel on a path to peace regardless, so if it doesn’t occur because of this incident, then little has changed overall.

Asia

Like China, Japan is eating massive snowfalls. Just a glance at that little pic to the left should give you a grasp of the magnitude we’re talking here. Wild, wild stuff, man.

Protests in Thailand over US/Thai trade negotiations. The People’s Network Against Free Trade Agreements and Privatizations says a free-trade pact would result in the privatization of public utilities under U.S. management and farmers would suffer from cheap farm imports while paying more for U.S.-made drugs. What’s the US response to this? Neena Moorjani, spokeswoman for the U.S. trade delegation, called the protests “a sign of healthy democracy”. In other words, no comment. It seems that is the administration’s response to any protest against them, rather than alleviating the fears of the fearful.

General

The Blogs look at the legacy of Sharon and poke Bush from both sides on his recess appointments.

Today’s Papers has Iraq’s Debaathification Committee, House Speaker Dennis Hastert announced plans for new rules to clamp down on relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers(ahh, the timing..), Diabetes in New York and other news tidbits.

Amusements

Wealthy school apologises for taunting other school for not being as rich as them during game

Lion Country Safari starts to cage big cats due to idiots who get outof cars to play. “People are just ignorant about this size animal,” says director of park. “They think because we feed them every day that they’re tame.”

There may be more embarassing things than being caught naked in a store window with a mannequin, surrounded by other naked mannequins that showed signs of “abuse”, but it’s hard to think of what

Alleged al-Qaeda bombmaker gets back at IRA prisoners taunting him in Irish jail by handing one a flask wrapped in batteries and telling him it will explode if he lets it go. Hilarity ensues

Woman sues police for shooting her after she pointed a revolver at them

Newspaper apologizes for causing state investigation after correctly reporting that county commissioners were breaking the law — only in Florida could you possibly read a story like this

Utah theater cancels Brokeback Mountain screenings. Says it gives wrong message to young men and their countless wives

Latest stress-relief technique is known as “Fredding” and it’s so weird even the guy who invented it recommends against doing it on a first date

Having solved all of the state’s problems, New Hampshire Legislature seeks to create speed limits for remote-controlled model boats

500 of Norway’s biggest companies face being shut down by government over next two years unless they put more broads on their boards

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop theme: Opposites

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Thinking of you

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